The Barriers That We Face
by pokemon fan 98
Summary: Spoilers for the season two finale! Jemma was taken in by the Kree artifact. She and Fitz had plans for dinner, but she's stuck, helpless, as the stone starts to change her. Can Fitz find a way to free her before things change too much, or is this one barrier they just can't beat?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So I watched the season finale today, and I had to write something. I need to express what I hope/think could possibly happen. I hope you enjoy it, and please leave me a review! More chapters to come soon!**

"Dinner." Fitz said.

"Yes, Fitz, dinner is coming closer, I'm sure."

"No." he said. He focused on her, finally getting the words. "Maybe we could have dinner. You and me. Somewhere. Somewhere… nice."

She looked up at him, quiet for a moment. "Of course." She said.

"Great." He said, his face clear with relief.

"But I need to make sure everything's set in here."

"I'll just go and look up some places then. I'll tell you what I find."

She smiled at him as he walked out, closing the door behind him. This was something that had been long overdue. It had taken seeing Hunter's reaction to almost losing Bobbi to show her how she really felt about Fitz.

She had to tell him, before anything else happened. Life was too short, she was starting to realize. So she finished her analysis as quickly as she could and got ready to leave.

Then she noticed the door to the Kree device wasn't fully closed.

"That's odd." She said.

She walked over and pushed it into place, preparing to lock it, and a second later was thrown back as the black stone liquefied and swarmed over her in a tidal wave. She screamed as it dragged her to the floor, trying desperately to pull herself free of the mysterious liquid. She scrabbled for the door as it pulled her back towards the container, mentally crying out desperately for Fitz while audibly expressing only her fear.

But Fitz wasn't there.

She was alone.

And ten seconds later, it appeared that Jemma Simmons was gone.

* * *

Fitz had a list of ten different restaurants he thought they would enjoy when he realized Jemma still hadn't come back. He looked at the time on the computer and saw that it had been almost an hour since he'd left her.

She was thorough, that much was definite, but Fitz had been sure she was finishing up when he left. She should be done by now. Was she having second thoughts?

He inspected his list of restaurants. She had been the one to bring up their relationship, not him. She had been the one to once again give him hope that maybe, just maybe, they had a chance at something more than friendship.

So it didn't make sense that she wouldn't come to the lab when she was done. The Jemma he knew was very efficient; he could trust her to do anything she'd said she would.

Which meant one of three things was possible. She could be taking an exceptionally long time finishing her inspection. Possible, though not probable. She could have been asked by Coulson or someone else to look into something; Bobbi could have needed her attention. That was possible as well. The third possibility was that something was wrong. No matter how unlikely it seemed, (since they had just found a temporary peace), that was the conclusion that Fitz most readily believed. He had experienced too much horror in the past few months to not consider it. The "peace" they were in seemed like a joke; he couldn't trust it yet.

Was he paranoid? Probably. Did he have a reason to be? He certainly thought so.

Just to make sure it was just paranoia and nothing more serious, Fitz decided to go and look for her. Two minutes later he arrived in the room he'd left her in, breathing a little faster as he took in the scene: the room was empty.

Trying not to panic, he decided to check her room and the kitchen before making a final decision. He sprinted all the way. Her room was empty, the lights off. She wasn't in the kitchen either.

Now his heart was pounding. Where was she?

He raced to the medical section of the base and found a sleeping Bobbi and Hunter, but again no sign of Jemma. So he went the last place he could think of.

* * *

The black liquid-stone felt odd against her skin.

When it had first grabbed her, it had pulled her into itself, submerging her in its thick waves. The last light she had seen had been a glimpse, as she surfaced one last time before being taken captive by the Kree artifact. Now there was only darkness.

The wave had solidified into a stone again after she lost the light. The odd part was that it still felt loose around her. She couldn't move. She couldn't even open her eyes. But she wasn't crushed. She was simply held in place, as if the space had been waiting for her to fill it…

She also wasn't awake. She wasn't fully asleep, but her conscious mind was not fully hers to command. She heard things in the rock, sounds as if it were alive. She had never noticed those sounds before.

Was she breathing? She had no idea.

She must have been able to, because she was alive, but she could tell of nothing besides the thoughts in her half-conscious mind and the whispering sounds of the rock.

She dimly thought of Fitz, and how he must be waiting for her. He seemed so far away from where she was now. She was oddly comforted, nestled into the rock as she was. Her mind was pleased, at least.

She had been scared to be taken in by the wave, but it wasn't so bad.

At first she had felt panic, terror caught in her throat as she struggled to move, to open her eyes, to do anything really. Then she had started losing consciousness, like she was just going to sleep after a long day.

She was brought into a twilight zone until her protests stopped completely, and then she entered the semi-sleeping state she was in now.

The rock started to show her things. Its whisperings became sensible to her the longer she stayed inside it, learning its language. And its purpose.

It was very old. It was also very powerful.

Apparently it became a wave to seek a new host. It had been without one for too many years, so it was desperate for someone to bond with.

Jemma had been that person, simply by being there at the right time.

Now it was bonding with her.

* * *

"Sir!" he called, knocking forcefully on the door. "Coulson!"

The door opened and Coulson stood there, looking at him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't find Jemma."

"Did you look-?"

"Everywhere, I don't know where she is."

Coulson hesitated. "Maybe she just doesn't want to be found for a little bit. I can't see anything bad happening to her. There's no one left here that's a threat."

Fitz froze. Coulson was right. There was nothing that could hurt them. "But sir, she said she'd meet me once she'd finished her inspection, and it's been an hour."

"I'll come and look for her with you." Coulson said. "Maybe you just need a fresh pair of eyes; you seem a bit worked up."

Fitz allowed Coulson to take the lead as they walked along, looking for Jemma. He could tell Coulson thought Fitz was overreacting. Maybe he thought stress was getting to him. A part of Fitz understood this, somewhat agreed with the man. But something inside him screamed that Jemma wasn't alright.

He had never been so sure about anything before.

Except maybe for the fact that he loved her.

But this was something different. He knew it in a way he couldn't explain. Jemma was in trouble. He just had to convince Coulson he was right, and then save her from whatever it was.

The list of restaurants he had come up with was folded up in his shirt pocket, hastily stuffed there when he first went to look for her.

He didn't notice as it fell from his pocket, silently fluttering to the ground behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so happy with all the support this story has gotten so far! Thanks, guys! Here's chapter two! Tell me what you think!**

It took half an hour before Coulson started showing any sign of unease. Then, once they'd effectively searched everywhere, he looked positively alarmed.

"Where was she when you last saw her?" he asked Fitz.

"In the room with the Kree artifact."

"We need to watch the footage from that room. Hopefully it'll show us what happened."

"Do you think whatever happened was in that room?"

"Unless she somehow snuck away. I think the room is our best bet right now."

Fitz fast-walked back to Coulson's office, Coulson a step behind him. He sat down at Coulson's desk without hesitating and started typing on his computer, going to the security settings Coulson had complete control over. He searched for the artifact's room and went back almost two hours, enlarging the video on the screen.

"There's Jemma and I talking." Fitz said as they appeared on the screen. He didn't have the sound on. "She said she would meet me in a little bit."

They watched as the Fitz on-screen left the room and Jemma packed up her bag.

"If she packed, why didn't she leave?" Fitz asked out loud, more to himself than to Coulson.

A moment later he watched as she walked towards the Kree artifact's container, pushing the door closed. Then his heart stopped.

"No." he said softly. "No, it can't be."

He hurriedly typed on the computer and watched the last minute over again.

"No!" he yelled once it registered.

"Fitz, wait!" he heard Coulson shout. But he couldn't wait. He was sprinting out the door, through the halls and back towards that cursed room.

"Jemma!"

He tore open the door and raced towards the container, ready to break it open when a strong arm wrapped around his middle, restraining him.

"Stop!" Coulson said, slightly out of breath.

Fitz fought against him feebly for a second before giving up and turning to face him. "How did this happen?" he asked. His voice was weaker than he would have liked it to be.

They had been going to have dinner. The war with the Inhumans had ended, and they were supposed to celebrate something great. And not even an hour had passed before something horrible happened.

Fitz would never let her out of his sight again once they got her out.

It wasn't fair. After everything they'd been through…

"How do we get her out?" he asked.

His only concern was making sure she was safe. Everything else was unimportant, at least until she was safe. He forgot about Inhumans, Ward, and even their recovering team. She was the only thing that mattered to him. He had to get her back.

"I've never seen anything like this." Coulson said. "I don't have any answers."

"Then we need to find some." Fitz said.

The weakness was gone from his voice, replaced by determination.

Jemma needed him. It was his job to get her back safely.

* * *

Jemma felt the rock send tethers of itself into her, felt it root itself in and start to grow.

She was still in that twilight zone, only able to think about what the rock showed her. Half her mind was asleep, but she was alert enough to feel the rock start to move into her.

It wasn't painful. She didn't actually mind that much. From what she had learned from it, this was necessary. The only scary part was the feeling of losing control, but the rock assured her she wasn't losing control of anything.

It was only guiding her. It said it knew what she needed more than she did; that their needs were the same, and it could help both of them. A small part of her disagreed with that, but that part was buried quickly.

She felt that small part lose power, stifled by the rock's overpowering presence.

Jemma Simmons was changed, though her awareness of it was limited.

It bonded with her, giving her strength and knowledge, channeling itself into her.

Taking control of her.

* * *

Fitz rubbed his bleary eyes hastily, willing them to stay sharp.

He had been watching the video of Jemma being taken. He had seen it at least twenty times, and he was still woefully lost.

He couldn't focus. He was determined to save her, but all his mind kept coming up with was that picture of Jemma seconds before the wave submerged her. The image was burnt into his brain, and he knew it would haunt him for the rest of his life.

She had looked petrified, desperation and fear clear in her eyes as she had clawed for her freedom in vain. She never had a chance, he realized as he watched it once more. Whatever the wave was, it had latched on to her as if its life depended on it.

He shut the laptop with more force than he'd meant to. He'd drive himself mad if he watched it again. Coulson had gone to his office, but Fitz was in the lab. He had always worked best in the lab.

Now he decided Coulson could help him. He obviously wasn't doing too well on his own.

Maybe if he just got access to all the documents concerning the Kree artifact. Yeah, that was the place to start. If there was anything to be learned from the video, it was escaping him, so he needed to look somewhere else.

He walked to Coulson's office and knocked on the door. "Come in." he heard.

He pushed open the door and walked in, sitting in front of Coulson's desk. "I need everything we've got on the artifact."

"I've been pulling everything with mention of it since I got here." Coulson said. "What were you doing?"

"Watching the security footage." Fitz said. "I can't watch it anymore."

Coulson looked at him sympathetically. "I don't blame you, Fitz. I had trouble watching it twice."

"What did you find?" Fitz asked, anxious to think of anything but the video.

"Not nearly as much as I'd like." Coulson said. "Even with access to all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records, I only found two results. One is the first time S.H.I.E.L.D. encountered it. It describes where it was found and the procedure that was used to secure it."

"And the second?"

Coulson sighed. "The second is even shorter. It states that an experiment was planned to study it about fifty years ago, but it was cancelled before anything was done. Some higher ups thought it was too dangerous for anything but containment, and ordered it to lockdown."

Fitz felt empty. "So we've got nothing."

"No." Coulson said. "We have you. If anyone can figure this out it's you."

"Fat lot of good I've done so far." He muttered.

"Let me make a call." Coulson said. "See if I can't find someone who knows more about the rock than we do."

"No one in S.H.I.E.L.D. then." Fitz said darkly.

"No," Coulson said. "The person I have in mind is definitely not in S.H.I.E.L.D."

* * *

The rock spoke to her in a teacher-like fashion. It taught her its mission to destroy the Inhumans. It explained why it was made, and showed her some of its power.

It took over.

At first, after she stopped protesting, it just showed her things, giving her basic facts. Then it started sharing more detailed things with her, slowly so her fragile mind could take it.

Then, once she reached her capacity in that fashion, and it could teach her no more that way, it realized she was ready for the final step.

It started fully bonding with her, transferring itself into her mind and body.

It had taken many hosts in its lifetime, so it knew perfectly how to do it. It never moved too fast or too slow, but at just the right speed for the newest host. The information it had given to her had prepared her for its presence.

This host, Jemma Simmons it learned she was called, was one of the brightest it had encountered. It was able to bond with her in a way it rarely had with others, much more completely.

It buried the person she used to be deep inside her, making room for itself.

It planned on never going as long without a host as it had the last time. That had been horrible, the sense of starvation making it desperate. It had shown the humans how it changed into a wave, something meant to be kept completely secret, craving a body of any type. So when the girl had come close enough to its cage, it had struck out immediately, overcome by the need for a host.

Now it could see that she was the best human it could have found. She was perfect.

With luck and careful planning, she could become its permanent host.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's chapter three! Enjoy!**

"Did you get hold of her?"

"One minute, Fitz." Coulson said.

Fitz watched the screen impatiently. A few seconds passed and then it turned on, displaying a video.

"Sif." Coulson said.

"Son of Coul." She said to him respectfully. "Why have you called so urgently?"

"I was hoping you could tell us about this." He said, holding up a picture of the artifact. "We know it's Kree, but that's pretty much all we know."

"It is extremely dangerous. Do not experiment on it. Just leave it alone, and guard it carefully."

"We're not trying to experiment." Coulson said. "We need to figure out how to open it."

"I cannot help you." She said stiffly.

"It trapped Simmons!" Fitz burst out. "It turned into a wave and brought her inside it."

Sif stopped going to turn off the video feed. She was silent for a few minutes.

"Well?" Fitz asked.

She looked at him. "I'm sorry. I know of no ways to free her."

"Surely you must have heard rumors? Anything that can help us?" Coulson asked.

Now Sif moved her gaze to him. "I truly am sorry, Son of Coul. There is no hope for her if she has been taken."

"Are you sure?" Coulson demanded.

"Completely. The artifact only changes form when it wishes to. There is nothing you can do to force it."

Coulson looked back at Fitz, the hope slightly fading from his eyes. "Thank you Sif."

"I regret that it has taken one so bright." Sif said, signing off.

Fitz looked at the empty screen. Sif had said there was no way to force the stone open. If an Asgardian didn't know how, how on earth could _he_ find a way?

"I know what Sif said, but I can't stop trying." He said without looking at Coulson. "It's been a day. How long do you think she can survive in there?"

"This is all alien, Fitz. I have no idea what it does, how it does it, or why it does it. The only thing I do know is that, once this is over, I'm either destroying it or sending it as far away as I can."

"Amen to that." Fitz said. "But we need to concentrate on getting Simmons out. I'm going to study the rock."

"I'm coming with you." Coulson said. "If it shows any signs of changing we're leaving. Alright?"

Inwardly Fitz thought it changing was the whole point of his going. If it started to change form, Jemma would be free. But he promised Coulson he would play it safe.

* * *

Three days passed, and nothing seemed to be changed. They studied the rock for hours at a time. It never moved.

Fitz felt his hatred for the artifact grow. He worried about Jemma's health. He didn't get sleep. He barely even ate, except when Coulson forced him to, in which case he swallowed mechanically, never tasting anything.

Three more days passed. It had been a full week. On the morning of the seventh day Coulson looked at Fitz, grief plain in his eyes. "Fitz." He started.

"Don't say it."

"Fitz, I think it's time."

Fitz felt his eyes burning as he stared at the rock. Coulson wanted him to give up. Coulson, who never abandoned his team, thought it was a lost cause.

So why didn't Fitz?

No matter how hopeless he felt, he couldn't bring himself to say she was gone. He stayed there after Coulson left, all the rest of that seventh day. Then Coulson came back.

"I'm moving the stone." He said.

Fitz's head whipped around. "You can't."

"I can, and I am. You've barely left this room in a week, Fitz. We've studied it endlessly, and we're no closer to an answer."

"But if you move it…"

"I know." Coulson said.

Fitz was shocked to hear the pain in his voice. "This is the most alien thing we've ever faced, and we deal with alien things every day. I don't want to do it, but the stone could still be dangerous. I need to protect the rest of my team, Fitz."

Fitz was silent. He understood the position Coulson was in. But he had a condition.

"Let me watch the security tapes." He said. "You don't have to tell me where it is, but give me access to the tapes."

"Of course." Coulson said.

So Fitz left the room reluctantly, closing the door behind him and casting one last look at it through the window.

* * *

The man stopped coming. It was finally alone again, after days of being watched.

And it was ready.

After a week, its host was perfect.

It was time to take action.

* * *

Fitz slept for a few hours after leaving the room. He was bone-tired. When he woke up it was still night. His clock told him it was about midnight.

He tried to go back to sleep but failed. His brain wouldn't let him get more rest until he checked the security feed.

It was already displayed on his laptop, so he stood and walked to his desk, looking at it. The stone didn't seem to have changed at all.

Then, as he was turning around, he saw something in the corner of his eye. He quickly faced the screen again, watching.

The rock was glowing.

"Jemma." Fitz said.

He ran out of his room, heading to the room with the rock. Coulson would want to be informed, but Fitz didn't care. This was happening too quickly for him to retrieve Coulson first. He didn't want to miss anything.

He arrived at the door out of breath. The stone was definitely glowing. He tried the door without luck. Coulson must have done something to seal it. No matter what he tried he couldn't get in.

The rock was steadily glowing brighter, a deep purple color that was almost black. Then, when it was so bright Fitz almost had to cover his eyes, it abruptly disappeared.

And pulsed outward.

It sent a wave of light all around it, which faded into nothing once it reached the walls of the room. The light burst the glass container the rock was in when it hit it, though. Fitz watched open-mouthed as the rock slowly cracked down the middle, opening up.

It released a smoke as it opened, but when it cleared Fitz felt his breath catch.

Jemma stood between the halves of the now open rock, looking completely fine, if a little disoriented once she opened her eyes.

He could hardly believe his eyes.

She was safe.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here's chapter 4! Enjoy, and leave me a review!**

"Coulson!" Fitz yelled as he ran down the hall. "Coulson, wake up! She's safe!"

He pounded on the door, still yelling. He couldn't tear the smile from his face.

It took a minute for the door to open. Coulson looked at him, seeming irritated. "What is it, Fitz?"

"Sir, it's the rock. It's let Jemma out."

Coulson froze. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I just watched it!"

"Let me get the key." Coulson said, moving quickly.

Two minutes later Coulson was undoing his personal lock on the door, which really consisted of about six different kinds of locks. Fitz looked in the window and saw that Jemma was still standing in the same spot.

Finally, when Coulson undid the last lock, Fitz burst through the door, running to her. He stopped a few feet in front of her, not wanting to overwhelm her.

"Jemma?" he asked.

She hadn't reacted as he'd run in. She still seemed as though she didn't see him.

"Jemma." He said again.

Recognition flashed in her eyes as she slowly turned to look at him.

"Fitz."

He smiled. "Are you okay?"

"I…" she narrowed her eyes. "I don't know."

"Well that's understandable, you've been through a lot."

She looked from him to Coulson, startled when she heard Coulson close the door.

"It's okay." Fitz said.

Now his happiness was fading. Why was she acting so weird?

Immediately after asking himself this he scolded himself. He had no idea what she had been through the past week. If he had been in her position, he'd be a little off too.

"Here, let's get you away from there." He said, slowly stepping towards her with his arms out.

She looked back at him, her mouth slightly parted, and then nodded. She took a small step forward.

He lunged forward and caught her as she stumbled, dragging her back away from the rock and towards the wall. "It's okay." He said, holding her tight. "I've got you. I won't let you fall."

She was shaking against him, ever so slightly.

Fitz held onto her, trying to comfort her as his eyes met Coulson. Whatever she had been through, she needed comfort.

Why else would she cling to him like this?

* * *

It stepped out of its former shell, feeling exhilarated. It was free.

Free, after so many years.

It forced its eyes to open, getting used to the feeling of the body outside its confinement. It would need a few minutes to gain full control over it like this. The body was perfectly obedient. It just needed to remember how it moved best, and make sure to act like the host had.

So when the man appeared again, with the door open, it didn't know what to do. It could tell from her memories that this man knew her best. He would sense anything that wasn't her usual character.

Then, once the man motioned for it to walk towards him, it knew what to do.

The man didn't know what the rock did to people it took inside it. That much was obvious from the way he had been studying it for the past week.

So it acted as if it was badly shaken, stumbling and not saying much.

The man was such a fool. By the time he let the host body go, it had the control it needed.

"Let's get you to bed." The man said.

It nodded and started walking, being sure to still appear weak. Oh, what fun this was!

But it remembered not to get lost in the mind-numbing freedom. It couldn't spoil this.

It had important things to do.

* * *

There was an Inhuman in the facility. It had gleaned from the host's memories that the creature was called Skye.

It needed to be destroyed. After that it would use the host to find other Inhumans.

The annoyance was the man. He wouldn't leave it alone, insisting on caring for "Jemma" constantly. It hoped he would leave soon. Maybe if it pretended to be asleep.

Yes, that seemed to work. It sensed the man's presence as it lay down, closing its eyes and feigning sleep. He hovered for a few moments before slowly walking out of the room, his reluctance almost tangible.

Of course it would have been faster to simply incapacitate the man, but it wanted to hold up its charade for as long as possible.

Once it was sure the man was gone it stood. It needed to test its abilities before leaving the room. So it held out its hand, palm up, and brought forth the flame. It burned an inch above its palm, black as the stone that had been its home for so long.

The host smiled.

* * *

"Fitz." Coulson said.

Fitz closed the door to Jemma's room softly and walked towards Coulson.

"How is she?"

"Sleeping now. She seems shaken, but otherwise fine."

"You understand that we still need to run some tests, right?"

"Why? We've got her back, and in a few days she'll be good as new. We shouldn't put her through the stress of testing."

"Fitz, I don't want to make her do it anymore than you do, but we have to. We know next to nothing about that rock, and I need to make sure it didn't change anything about her."

"At least let her sleep in peace for now." Fitz said.

Coulson's tone lightened. "Of course. In the morning we'll bring her to the medical section. You know how to run the tests, right?"

"Yeah." Fitz said. He'd seen Jemma do it and helped her enough to know exactly what to do. He just never thought he'd have to do it with her as the patient.

"I'm going to lock her in." Coulson said. "You should go get some sleep."

"No, I need to stay here." Fitz said. "If she wakes up confused, I can help her. I need to be able to help her."

"Alright." Coulson said, relenting. "Here's the key, if you need it. I'm going back to my office."

"Goodnight, sir." Fitz called after him softly. He slid down the wall, leaning his back against the part right next to her door; he never locked it.

* * *

Time passed. It waited for silence in the hallway outside before opening the door, expecting to find the hall empty.

"Jemma, what are you doing up?"

The man was sitting by the door, looking up at it.

"I need a drink." It said.

"I'll get it for you." He said, standing up. "You need to go back in your room though. I'm sorry, but it's Coulson's orders."

It thought rapidly. There was no other alternative. "I don't follow anyone's orders." It said.

It waved its hand, and a wave of light sped towards Fitz, who was quickly standing up. When it hit him he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Well, that had been easy. It wasn't even that fun.

Oh well, it thought. It would just have to take more time with the Inhuman.

It tapped into Jemma's memories and found the path to Skye's room, and set off towards it.

There was no sound coming from the room, and the lights were off. It took that as a sign that Skye was asleep. So it silently opened the door and stepped in the room, closing it behind it.

She lay on the bed, a laptop on the floor next to her. Now that wouldn't do, it thought. She needed to be awake for it to have any fun.

So it opened the door again and stood slightly behind it, knocking.

It took a minute for her to awaken, but she looked up and saw it standing by her door.

"Jemma?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. Her voice was the croak of those coming out of deep sleep.

"Skye." It said. "I'm sorry to wake you, but I needed to see you."

Skye sat up. "Am I dreaming?"

"No." it said with a smile. "Fitz and Coulson got me out."

Skye's smile was so genuine it almost felt bad for the ruse. Almost.

Skye stood and hugged it. "I'm so glad you're safe." She said against it.

"Me too." It said.

Skye separated from it and studied it for a minute. "Wait." She said. "Why isn't someone with you? After Puerto Rico I was put in isolation right away, and they didn't stop for a long time."

"Someone was with me, Skye." It said, semi-sweetly. "Fitz."

"What do you mean _was_?"

"He fell asleep."

A pause.

"Jemma, are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm better than okay." It said, smiling. "I'm perfect."

There was a split second where they stared at each other. Then Skye started to yell "Coulson!"

It moved quickly, backing Skye against the wall and pinning her there, one hand around her neck. "Don't do that." It said. "I don't want any more company."

Skye stared at her with wide eyes, her mouth open as she struggled to speak. "What – happened – to – Jemma?" she managed.

"She's gone." It said. "And she's never coming back."

It smiled at her, a cruel smile, as it brought fire to its free hand. "It's time to play, Inhuman."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers! I've loved the reaction this story has gotten so far! It means so much to me. Thank you.**

It didn't want to kill her. Not without getting all the information it could out of her first.

So it threatened her with the fire instead of just casting it into her. Because its fire was special. It didn't burn like normal fire.

No, this fire went inside, killing a person from the inside out. It was the only way to make sure Inhumans truly died, because some could survive outer wounds that should be deadly.

"Where is the Inhuman world?" it asked.

Skye pressed her lips together firmly, staring at it.

"You don't want to tell me?" it asked softly. "Fine. Where are the other Inhumans, the ones on earth?"

Again she didn't say anything.

So it extinguished its dark fire and touched its fingertips to her arm. A small wave of energy passed from it to Skye, rippling through her body. At first she only looked wary. Then it started to take effect.

She gasped as the pain hit her, crying out.

It was a master at its mission. The dark fire was used to kill Inhumans and anyone unlucky enough to be in its way. But it had much more than that. It had many tricks up its sleeve. Skye was learning that now, as pure pain spread throughout her body.

"Let's try that again." It said once the wave of pain faded and Skye was staring at it, an expression of horror on her face. All thoughts of using her powers were gone. The girl was in too much shock to realize she could use them. That just made its goal easier.

"Where are the others?"

* * *

Fitz woke up and groaned. Why was he on the floor?

Then it came back to him. Jemma had attacked him.

"Coulson's going to kill me." He said. He stood and looked in her room, hoping she was there. As he'd suspected, the room was empty. "Yeah, he's definitely going to kill me. Jemma?" Fitz called out.

Wait, why was he calling out to her? He had no idea what state she would be in when he found her. She might not even be in control of her actions. So he went to get Coulson, and check security feeds.

At least, he started to go that way. Then he heard a muffled scream.

He broke into a run, heading towards Coulson's office. He didn't have time to get him, but he could at least wake him up. So he knocked heavily and rapidly on the door for a few seconds. The he ran back towards the sound, hoping Coulson had heard his knock and would come investigate. He was pretty sure he knew where the scream came from. The only question was, who did it belong to?

He burst through the door and found Jemma standing with her back to him, chuckling and looking at the floor, where –

"Skye." Fitz breathed. The young agent was lying limp on the floor, barely stirring.

Jemma lifted up her hand and pointed her palm towards Skye. "It's been fun." She said. "But I'm done with this game."

"Jemma, stop!" Fitz yelled.

She turned around, startled, and he felt his jaw drop. Her eyes were black.

And not just the colored part. Her eyes were completely and utterly black.

And it was terrifying.

Fitz faltered, his words momentarily failing him. "Don't -." He started to say.

But she didn't pay any attention. She just turned back to Skye and held out her hand again.

"I said stop!" Fitz yelled, lunging forward. He grabbed Jemma's outstretched hand and tried to move it away from Skye, but it wouldn't budge. Since when was Jemma that strong?

Jemma smiled at him. "You want to die with her? Fine."

Then she sent another pulse of light from her palm. Most of it went into Fitz, because of his grip on her arm, but some of it hit Skye, who slipped completely into unconsciousness. Fitz's knees buckled, his vision spotty.

When he looked up a moment later, Jemma was staring at him. The black faded from her eyes so he was looking into the ones he had always known.

"I'll come back." She said. "I promise."

For a moment she sounded like her old self, and with her eyes back to normal, Fitz almost believed she was fine.

Then she smiled lightly. "Why else would I let you live? See if the Inhuman has any life left in her. It should be pretty close. You better hope she's a fighter."

"Where?" Fitz asked. "Where are you going?"

"Ultimately? To find more Inhumans. But I have something even more important to do first." She swished her fist in a fluid motion, and another wave of light flew towards Fitz, slicing through him silently. He slumped to the ground for the second time that day, unconscious.

* * *

'Jemma' inspected them, lying so close to each other on the floor. It went against everything it was told to leave the Inhuman breathing, even if it looked like she would die, but it wanted to get going. The longer it stayed the more risk there was of failing.

It needed to find the source. There had been rumors of it, rumors it had known since its birth. It knew that they weren't just rumors, though. The source was real. It just needed to be found.

And it was a very intelligent being, with a very intelligent host. So with their combined intellect and information, it narrowed down the possible locations quickly, leaving only two.

It stepped out of the facility and looked around. Dawn was just breaking on the horizon. Fitting, it thought as it stole a land-based vehicle. Dawn. An auspicious time for an auspicious deed.

It was going to do what had never been done before, and become the greatest being ever.

It was going to ensure that this host belonged to it permanently.

It was going to make the host immortal.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter 6!**

Coulson heard the knocking in his dream, and it confused him. Why was it so loud?

Then he started to surface, and the banging stopped abruptly. He sat up and shook his head, willing himself to feel more awake. Someone must have been at his door.

But who would be knocking like that at… he looked at his watch. Five in the morning!

He was about to just go back to his desk and do work when it hit him; Fitz had been guarding Jemma.

"Fitz, please tell me you weren't the one to knock." He said as he stood and fast-walked to Jemma's room.

He found it empty.

"Where did you go?" he asked.

He started walking down the hallway, peering into every room. When he reached the end of the hall and found Skye's closed door, he faltered. Should he risk waking her up? She could have a very bad temper.

Yes, of course he should, he told himself. It was his job to search everywhere. So he knocked, waited for a second, and then eased the door open.

And ran inside, his throat tight with fear. Skye and Fitz were lying on the floor, both sprawled with their eyes closed.

"Skye!" Coulson said urgently. "Fitz! Please be okay!"

He knelt down and felt for a pulse. Fitz's was there but slow: he had just been knocked out apparently. But Skye's was extremely weak, and she looked very pale. Sensing that Skye needed attention more than Fitz, Coulson picked her up and jogged to the medical center. He could really have used Jemma's expertise now.

Then again, Jemma had caused this.

No, he argued. That wasn't Jemma. Something had happened to her in that rock.

As he placed Skye on a bed he mentally cursed himself. If he'd just followed protocol and put Jemma in isolation immediately, this might not have happened.

When he turned around he saw Bobbi and Hunter in the bed next to Skye. Hunter was passed out in his chair, but Bobbi was looking at him with tired eyes. "What happened?" she asked.

"Simmons." He said. "She came out of the stone around midnight. We thought she was fine, but apparently that's not the case. I don't know what she did, but Skye's in danger. Her pulse is fluttery. What should I do?"

"Is Jemma okay?" she asked, processing the first piece of information she had been given.

"Her health? I think so. But my biggest concern right now is Skye. What do I do?"

Bobbi looked at Skye. "Give her fluids?" she guessed. "I don't know what she needs because I don't know what happened."

"Something's using Simmons." Coulson said. "It or they made her attack Skye and Fitz."

"It?" Bobbi asked.

"It's Kree." Coulson reminded her. "We have no idea what the bastards put in the rock."

He left to check on Fitz, but he didn't carry the engineer back. He tried smelling salts first. He sighed with relief when he saw Fitz stirring.

A second later his eyes snapped open and he gasped, sitting up. "Jemma!"

"She's not here." Coulson said.

Fitz winced as he pulled himself into a standing position. "Something's controlling her." He said. "It wasn't her fault."

"I know." Coulson said. "But we can talk about that later. Right now I need help caring for Skye."

Fitz seemed to remember how he hadn't been alone, and raced back to the medical center with Coulson.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

Coulson walked over and took her pulse. "It's a little stronger, but still not good."

"Jemma," Fitz said. Then he tightened his lip. " _she_ said Skye would have to fight to survive. She had powers, like I've never seen before."

"So how do we heal Skye?"

Fitz shook his head. "I don't think we can. It's up to her."

* * *

Skye had been so happy to see Jemma. She hadn't shown it, but the disappearance of her best friend had torn her apart. She'd felt the weight lift off of her chest immediately, just by seeing her.

Then she'd realized it wasn't really Jemma. Whatever it was, it certainly hated her. Well, the new her. Apparently it felt that way for all Inhumans.

She was proud to think that she hadn't told her about any of the Inhumans' locations. She had come close, terrifyingly close, but before she could speak she had lost the ability to.

She was dimly aware of Fitz coming in and yelling, and then she felt another wave of horrible pain coursing through her, and passed out. The pain was… the worst she had ever endured.

Blacking out from that pain was so wonderful. All of her pain, all of her worries and fears, everything drifted away. She was separate from it all. But she was still tethered to herself. She couldn't drift away completely. She was too strong to do that.

When she woke up she felt the after effects of the pain, feeling weak and tired. She also felt shame. She hadn't even thought about using her powers to defend herself. She'd acted helpless.

Coulson was sitting by her bed. "Hey." She said.

He sat up straight instantly, snapping to attention. "Skye!" he said. His voice was flooded with warmth, and relief. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"I'm fine." She lied.

She would be fine, she knew that. But she needed a few hours of rest. She just wanted to make sure she talked to Coulson first.

"There's something wrong with Jemma." She said.

"I know." He said. "Unfortunately, she's not here."

"What?" Skye exclaimed, sitting up.

"She walked out after she dealt with the two of you. I've already been over the tapes."

"How did she leave so easily?"

"I thought she needed rest before we put her in isolation, and she went to sleep right away, so I let Fitz guard her door. But she played us. Our defenses were down. Half our team is either injured or inactive at the moment, and only Fitz and I knew she was even safe. She only came out of the rock around midnight. So she just walked out. I was only a few minutes behind her, but… I wanted to take care of you guys."

"You might not have been able to stop her even if you had followed her." Skye said. "What happened to her?"

Coulson sighed. "We don't know that either. It's Kree, and it has powers. And it's somehow controlling her. That sums up pretty much everything we know."

"So how do we find her? How do we get her back to normal?"

"We're working on that. I sent out a message for people to be on the lookout for her, so hopefully someone will be able to tell us where she's been. Fitz has some ideas on how to cure her too. He's in the lab, thinking it over."

"I should help him." Skye said.

"Later." Coulson said. "I'm not a fool, Skye. I know we need your help, but you also need to rest. You've been through a lot."

"Can I tell you something?" she asked him. He nodded. "It was… wrong." She said quietly, deciding to be completely honest with him. "Seeing her face as – it – did all that… it just wasn't right. It wasn't her."

"No, it wasn't." Coulson said. "But we'll get her back."

He gently pushed Skye's shoulders back so she lay down again, and then put his hand over hers for a second. "We'll get her back."

* * *

Fitz sat in the lab with his head in his hands, pushing his brain to work its best and fastest. The computer was running a search for the vehicle Jemma had taken, and another laptop was open, waiting to receive notice from absolutely anyone of possible sightings of her. In his lap he had a tablet, with a diagram of the Kree stone on it. Now that it was empty, Coulson had allowed Fitz to completely scan it.

It was an element he had never seen before, with a very intricate structure and an extremely durable exterior. It was made to withstand almost anything.

Somehow, something had been stored there. The rock itself was empty.

Now, at least.

So it – he decided it was an it, something capable of at least basic thought – was residing completely in Jemma. But if that were true, then it could move between things, right? Maybe it could only be in one thing at a time, but it could travel, with enough time. So if he figured out how that worked, maybe he could force it to leave Jemma, and go into someone or something else.

And he planned on trapping it.

So he studied it with undivided attention. He had a few ideas he needed to think through.

* * *

By noon Skye was feeling much better. She was still a little tired, but knew she really was fine. Coulson told her it had been twelve hours since the Kree rock had opened. Jemma had been gone for seven.

Skye moved from the medical section to the lab, working alongside Fitz and searching on routes he didn't know of for their lost teammate. Coulson was there as well, though only for about twenty minutes at a time. He kept disappearing to check things in his office and tell the others about what had happened.

Bobbi was in no shape to go anywhere, though she openly expressed a wish to help get Jemma back. Skye knew that they had bonded over their undercover HYDRA time.

Hunter was ready to go when Coulson needed him, though he didn't really want to leave Bobbi's side.

And Mack was gone, taking some time for himself.

Just like May.

They had left before they knew anything was wrong.

So their team was smaller.

Skye figured that wouldn't be a problem, though. Not if they figured out how to stop Jemma quickly. Her powers were dangerous. She could take them all out without breaking a sweat, and in seconds. So they just needed to be ready before they faced her.

Unfortunately, they still mostly had ideas when they got the first ping on her location. Fitz marked it down and then went back to work. The second ping was only ten minutes later, closely followed by a third.

"That's weird." Fitz said.

"Why all of a sudden?" Skye asked.

"Jemma would never be that sloppy." Fitz said. "But maybe that's the point." He said, thinking aloud. "It isn't trying to hide. It doesn't care if people see it."

"Then it must be confident it can succeed in whatever it's doing." Skye said.

"We'd better get back to work. Do you think your powers could affect it?"

"I'm pretty sure they would, but would they really hurt it? Or just Jemma?"

"What?"

"It's still Jemma's body." Skye said. "She's still inside there. I think. The thing is just inside her too. I don't think my powers are the right weapon. I might just cause unnecessary damage."

"We definitely don't want to do that." Fitz said.

"Any more ideas from you?"

"We need to force it back into something. If I can figure out exactly how it got into Jemma, maybe we can reverse it."

"But how do we figure that out?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

"We need to talk to the Kree." Skye said. "We need to act quickly, and they're the only ones who know what this thing is."

"But we can't." Fitz said, rubbing his hand over his face. "There's just no way to, and even if there were Coulson wouldn't authorize it."

"Wait." Skye said. "It can control Jemma, but it can't do anything if her body is useless. If we keep her knocked out and under lock and key, maybe we can test some things out."

"It's the best option we have for now." Fitz said. "I'll get ICERS. I have a feeling we'll need a lot of them."

"I'll tell Coulson."

* * *

It had never been so thankful for the location of its old stone prison than it was now. Away from it, there was no chance it could be taken out of the host body. But the humans didn't know that. And once the host was immortal, it would become its master permanently. No more prison time.

No.

It was ready to rule.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

"Do we have an idea of where she's headed?" Coulson asked.

"Possibly." Fitz said. "She's moving steadily towards Los Angeles. I don't know if she'll stop there, but she's pretty close to it now."

"And we're sure we don't know what she's after?"

"No." Skye said. "It wants to get rid of Inhumans. But there weren't many in L.A. last time I checked. They were still together, in the area."

"Destroying Inhumans is its biggest goal." Fitz said. "So why is it passing over them?"

"It must have something bigger planned." Coulson said. "And whatever that is, it can't be good."

"We need to go after her." Fitz said. "Skye and I still haven't come up with the definite way to take it out of Jemma, but we should be able to control it enough."

"Are you sure?"

Fitz hesitated, looking at Skye, who met his eyes and nodded. "Yes." He said. "We can contain her."

* * *

Los Angeles. The City of Angels.

Few people actually realized the power contained near this city. Whether or not angels existed was irrelevant. This was the place immortality could be obtained.

And it was so close. Just a few more hours of traveling, and it would be there. But first it needed rest. As much as it wanted to keep going, it couldn't burn through this body. That would be a horrible waste.

It had felt more peace in this host than it ever had before. The host truly was meant for it.

So as it pulled over the stolen vehicle and closed its eyes, it smiled to think this would be its host for all eternity. Soon.

* * *

They were just about to leave when they heard it. A loud beeping sound.

"Someone's trying to video-chat." Coulson said. "Directly to my computer."

They ran to his office and answered the call.

"Sif!"

Lady Sif regarded them with the smallest of smiles. She appeared to be tired. "Son of Coul." She said. "Fitz. Skye. I believe I have information you can use."

Coulson waited.

"The entity in the stone cannot survive without a host. It cannot die, either. It will exist in an altered state until it is grounded to a host again. It is safest to lock it in something it can do nothing in, like the stone it had been in until recently. There is a way to send it back into the rock, but I do not know what it is."

"How does that help us?" Fitz asked.

Coulson gave him a look, but Sif didn't appear to be angry. "I only know this much because I tracked down a Kree. He told me one other thing before he realized he had said too much."

"What was it?"

She met Fitz's eyes. "The makers of the stone knew exactly how it worked, and the entity inside. They built a failsafe, to force the entity back into it if they needed to."

They were silent, waiting for more.

"That is all I know." She said.

"Any information is better than none." Coulson said. "Thank you for finding out more."

"For you, Son of Coul, it is worth the trouble."

Coulson noticed that she wasn't signing off. "Skye, go tell Hunter we're not leaving yet. Fitz, maybe you could -?"

"Take another look at the rock?" he asked. He nodded. "I need to."

They walked out, and Coulson looked back at Sif. "Why else did you call?"

"I do not want you or your team to get your hopes up." She said. "The entity has only been imprisoned once before, and it was done by a Kree. I do not know if it is possible for any other life-form to imprison it."

"There's still something you're not saying."

She hesitated. "The last time the entity was active, it took an Asgardian as a host."

"I'm guessing from your expression it didn't end well."

"It was forced into the rock, but only after killing the host. Coulson, it is not something to be treated lightly."

"If there's even a small chance we can save Simmons we have to try." He said.

"Just do not be devastated if your hopes fail."

"They won't." he said simply.

Sif cracked a smile, something Coulson was very proud to see.

"I wish you luck, Son of Coul."

* * *

Fitz was looking at the rock again. He figured Coulson had just wanted him to get out of the room, but he also knew he needed to inspect it again. If the makers had put in a failsafe, did that mean it was part of the rock?

He combed over every inch of it, running his hands over its surface.

And then he found it.

A symbol scratched onto the back edge of the stone, incredibly small and barely discernable, but there nonetheless. If Fitz hadn't been looking so carefully he would have missed it. He had missed it, he realized, many times.

He didn't know what it meant, or how it worked, but it was something. "We need to bring it with us." He said aloud.

"If you say so."

He jumped and whirled around to find Skye leaning against the doorway. "What did you find?"

"Writing." An idea popped into his head. "Can you read it?"

She walked up to him and studied the symbol after he pointed it out.

Her eyes narrowed and she tried to sound it out when she swooned.

"Whoa." Fitz said, supporting her.

She shook her head and tried to read it out loud again, and this time her knees buckled. Fitz was now holding her up.

"Skye?" he asked.

She took a minute to respond. Her eyes opened and she stood, one hand on his arm to steady herself. "I can't read it."

"But you started to pronounce it."

"I think it's blocking me, Fitz. Maybe… got it! I can't say it because I'm an Inhuman! This thing was made to stop Inhumans, so obviously they wouldn't want Inhumans to be able to stop it!"

"So you can read it, but you can't do anything about it."

"Hey, don't worry. This is the closest we've come to an answer yet. And besides," she said, looking at him. "I could barely read it. I'm not the key to this one, Fitz."

"Then who is?" he asked.

A second later their eyes met.

"Coulson."

* * *

Skye was able to understand the Kree word, somewhat. It made sense, because the Kree had first made the Inhumans. But she and Fitz thought there was another reason Skye could almost understand it. The GH.325 serum.

It came from a blue alien. If they weren't actually Kree, maybe they were closely related. And Coulson had also had the serum.

It was worth a try, at least. Skye went to fetch him while Fitz gave it another look. The symbol meant absolutely nothing to him.

Coulson came in, Skye right behind him. "You want me to do what?" he asked.

"Try to read this." Skye said, pushing him toward the rock.

Fitz pointed to the odd symbols, and Coulson looked at them intently. Without seeming to realize it his mouth started forming shapes.

Ten seconds passed, and he looked up after he made a sound. "How was that?"

Fitz blinked. "That was the word?"

"I think so. How can I read it?"

"We think it's GH.325." Skye said.

Coulson nodded. "I can see that possibility."

"So what does the word mean?" Fitz asked.

Coulson thought for a minute.

"Release."


	8. Chapter 8

It woke and walked into the store it had parked the vehicle next to. It needed water for its hike. And food.

It realized that the host must look strange to others in the store. Its hair was disheveled from its rest, and its clothes were slightly rumpled. It didn't really care, but it fixed those things as best it could. Then it purchased two water bottles and a snack bar. It had found money in the vehicle's glove compartment.

It inhaled the snack bar and drank half of one of the bottles of water in a moment. It hadn't realized how low on energy the host body was.

Then it drove the rest of the way to the city, to its very edge. Once it could drive no more it got out, abandoning the vehicle and heading towards the mountains. The cave was in the hills behind the Hollywood sign.

It just needed a demonstration of power to open it. It should take about an hour to reach the location of the cave.

* * *

Coulson, Fitz, Hunter, and Skye set off immediately after Coulson read the word. They loaded the stone onto the plane they were using, as a precaution and because of Fitz's sense that they might need it.

The latest ping for Jemma's location had been a convenience store just outside LA. She'd bought food and water and then left.

They knew the exact car she had taken, and Fitz started a search for it once they got closer.

They found it abandoned on the edge of the city.

"She must be on foot." Coulson said.

"She can't be too far ahead." Fitz said. "We traveled by plane; she came by car."

"So let's start looking. We'll search for tracks or signs of walking." Coulson said.

"Do we shoot once we see her?" Hunter asked.

Fitz was about to object when he remembered that all of them held ICERs. Their other, more deadly weapons had been left on the plane, so there were no accidents.

"Yes." Skye said.

"We can't give her a chance to attack us."

"So when Coulson says this word…?"

"It should force the entity to leave Jemma."

"And go where?" Hunter asked.

"Back into the stone." Fitz answered simply. "We need to start moving."

"Why don't we just find her on the plane?" Hunter asked.

"Because we have to surprise her. If she sees us first we're done for."

"And if we end up needing the plane?"

Coulson looked at him. "Stay with it. Keep all comms on. And if we need backup, you come."

"Yes sir." Hunter said, smiling.

"Okay." Fitz said. "Now we've really got to go!"

* * *

They followed the trail she had left. It wasn't obviously clear, but it wasn't too hard to spot either. She wasn't on an actual trail, instead heading up the hills.

After about forty-five minutes they found themselves stopping. The trail was gone.

They didn't need it anymore.

Jemma was standing at the edge of their vision, her back to them.

She was standing in a small cave.

* * *

It had found it. The source of immortality.

The Cave of Life.

It was secluded, and looked no different from any of the landmarks around it. But it could sense the power hidden away.

The Cave opened when power was demonstrated in front of it, so it brought forth its black flame and sent it into the dirt.

For a moment nothing happened, and then the earth started to crumble. A great opening was formed, two feet in front of the host body, and it smiled.

The Cave continued to grow in depth until it could easily fit five people, and a section of the floor seemed to be shining.

It stepped forward and looked into the reflecting pool. Just a sip would give it immortality.

It knelt down reverently and slowly lowered its hands to the pool, cupping them to bring the blessed water to its lips. The water was blissfully cool to the touch.

It was just about to drink it when something hit its shoulder, making it drop the cupped water. It whipped around, a snarl coming to its lips.

The man was there. Fitz. And two others.

Its eyes locked on the Inhuman and it stood. So it had survived after all.

It felt its senses slip and blinked, confused. What was happening?

Then it understood. The host's memories showed it what the ICER was.

They were trying to capture it without seriously injuring it.

It smirked and shook off the effects of the ICER. "It's not quite that easy to subdue me." It said.

"We just needed you to turn around." Coulson said. He spoke a word that sent a tremor of recognition through it, making it stop for a moment.

"Why didn't that work?" Coulson asked from the side of his mouth a few seconds later. "That was supposed to work."

It clapped slowly, twice. "You're the closest any human has ever come to doing it." It said. "Unfortunately, it still isn't close enough."

"Now!" Fitz cried.

It summoned a massive burst of energy and sent it rushing towards the people, intent on getting rid of them.

They fired their ICERs, all sending shots towards the host body.

The energies met in the middle and exploded in a shower of light. For a single second it seemed as if they had cancelled each other out. Then light sped in both directions.

It gasped as at least two of the original shots hit it. Once was easy enough to ignore; it just took will. But three was a lot for any body. Especially one belonging to a human.

It was pleased to see one person go down. It was the Inhuman.

And Fitz was bent over, clutching his stomach.

It allowed itself to close its eyes for a moment and then forced them open. It was harder than it should have been. It had powers! Powers the humans could never dream of, or begin to understand! Why should it be taken down by something as simple as an ICER?

Wait.

It didn't have to stay conscious for long. It just needed a sip from the pool. The humans didn't know how close it was. If it could get there quickly enough…

It turned and staggered towards the pool, hoping that it would be done by the time the humans had recovered.

As soon as it drank it could let the body rest. It could work while the body was incapacitated. Then it could permanently mold itself to the body.

* * *

Fitz blinked after Coulson said the Kree word. Nothing was happening.

"That was supposed to work." He heard Coulson say to him.

Jemma smiled. Why hadn't it worked? Sif had said there was a key to controlling the entity. That word had to be it!

But…

Fitz didn't have time to think about it. "Now!" he cried, hastily pulling the trigger on his ICER. He had seen her eyes start to change color.

And then there was a sort of explosion. He doubled over as fierce pain hit him in his center, the wind knocked out of him. He glanced up and through watering eyes saw Jemma was bent over as well.

So at least one of their shots had gotten through.

"Coulson." He said quietly. He straightened up slowly. "Why didn't it work?"

"I don't know." Coulson said. He appeared to be fine; the only one on their side that didn't feel any pain. Skye was on the ground, but whether or not she was out Fitz didn't know. His brain was working on overdrive.

"The stone." He said.

"What?" Coulson asked.

"The stone!" Fitz said. "It must need to be touching it to be transferred into it!"

"Hunter!" Coulson said into his communicator. "Bring the plane up!"

"On it." Came his reply. "Tell me where you are."

Coulson hurriedly told him and then set down the communicator.

"What's she doing?" Coulson asked Fitz.

Fitz looked over. "She's going back into the cave." He said. He started forward. "She's after something!"

Coulson ran beside him, and when they got to the cave they found Jemma on the ground by a pool of water. Her hand was in the water, and she was slowly moving, but Fitz could see how difficult it was. Her eyes were half closed, and she was visibly shaking.

"None of that for you." He said, pulling her back from the pool. "Whatever it is."

She seemed to wake up a bit and glared at him, her eyes flashing black. Then she seemed to give up on attacking him. She started bringing her fist to her mouth and touched it to her lips, swallowed, and then smiled. "It's done."

"What's done?" Fitz asked quickly. "Coulson, what did it just do?"

"Immortality." It said with a faint smile, its eyes closing. "Immortality."

Fitz looked at Coulson with wide eyes, unbelieving. Then he heard the sound of movement.

Jemma was out, the ICERs no doubt taking effect. But she was shaking still, and this time it wasn't from fighting unconsciousness. Her head was moving side to side, her body jerking.

"Something's wrong!" Fitz said, throwing himself down next to her. "Jemma?" he looked at Coulson. "Get a sample of that water."

Coulson took a water bottle from his bag and emptied it quickly, scooping the water from the pool into it. "Is the water doing this?" he asked.

"I don't know." Fitz said. She was still jerking. "But we need to get that thing out of her and bring her to the med-lab."

"Where are you?" Coulson asked Hunter.

"Landing now." He said.

Coulson stepped out of the cave and listened. Fitz listened closely and heard it now; the plane was getting closer.

"Just hang in there Jemma." He said, one hand on her arm. "Another minute or so."

"Fitz, bring her out!" Coulson called a moment later.

Fitz reached down and gently picked her up. She was still convulsing slightly, so he jogged to the plane and up the lowered ramp. The stone was strapped on the floor there. Fitz stood next to it.

"Does she need to be completely touching it?" he asked.

"Just put her down." Coulson said.

Fitz laid her down at the base of the stone, making sure she was touching it. With a nod at Coulson he heard Coulson say the Kree word for Release.

He was watching Jemma so completely he almost forgot to breathe. She stopped convulsing and her eyes opened wide, flashing solid black. Then the black seemed to drain away, and Fitz thought he saw a vapor travel from her body to the stone, but he couldn't be sure. Her eyes closed immediately.

The stone pulsed a bright purple and fused together again with a resounding slam. It glowed incredibly brightly for a second and then seemed to die, reverting back to its traditional glossy black surface.

In the same instant Jemma, who had been propped against the rock, slid limply to the floor. She was still.

"Jemma." Fitz said.

He looked at her and saw how pale she was; how utterly still.

"Jemma!" he cried. He went down beside her and felt for a pulse, breathing quickly. He didn't find one. Was that because of his panic, or was it actually gone?

"Don't leave me." He whispered urgently to her, not caring which was true. Either way he wanted the same thing. "Please, don't leave me! Come on, Jem. It's gone! It's out of you! _Come on_!"

He held onto her tightly, willing with everything he had for her to breathe. " _Please!"_ he said, his voice raw with emotion.

Then she gasped, and just like that she was breathing again.

Fitz was breathing with his mouth open, his pulse hammering in his ears. It had seemed like forever that she'd been still in his arms. He looked at Coulson after a few minutes.

"She's alright?" he asked.

Fitz nodded, not daring to speak.

She almost hadn't been, though. Right? He wasn't sure now. Maybe that was normal for a host after the entity left it.

He wondered if that had ever actually happened before, a host escaping with its life.

"She's lucky to have you." Coulson said.

Fitz held her tight in his arms, watching to make sure she was still breathing. He couldn't speak, couldn't look away from her.

"We got her back." Coulson said.

Silently, Fitz agreed with him, adjusting her slightly in his arms.

We got her back.

 **A/N: Hey guys! Hope you liked this chapter! I only have one more for this story, I think. So leave me a review please!**


	9. Chapter 9

It brought the wet hand to its lips and swallowed the drops of water, finally allowing its eyes to close. Immortality.

But seconds after it allowed the body to rest it started shaking. What was happening? Was it the water?

It couldn't believe it. The body was rejecting the water.

And that was only for a few drops.

It had thought the host could take the transition, with a being as powerful as it was ready to control it. But the body was fighting it.

As long as the body made it, it would be fine. It just needed to start taking full control. If it could take control, absolute control, then it _could_ command the body to accept the immortality water. It just needed to act quickly.

Then it heard that word again, and a thrill of fear coursed through it. Because it felt something once the Kree word was spoken. Something that meant the humans had actually done it.

It felt itself being dragged out of the body. It fought with all it had, trying to force the body awake once more and use its power to destroy the stone, but it only worked for a second. Then it was losing its control over the body, being pulled back into the prison.

No! It thought as it went. It was so close!

That was the perfect host!

It held on as long as it could.

Then it was forced back into the stone, with only its own mind.

And it was once more imprisoned.

* * *

She was in a dark place, unable to move. The presence weighed down on her, trapping her.

Then it was gone, the weight lifting off her shoulders. What should she do? She tentatively reached out, expecting to be forced back into the dark place she had been imprisoned in. But nothing like that happened.

Instead, she was paralyzed as information rushed to her. Her half-conscious mind woke up fully. All of her memories came back to her clearly, unlike the hazy ones she had had recently. And there were other memories.

Painful memories, of her doing things she would never do, but had.

It was too much to handle at once, especially with the force of the onslaught. She blacked out.

When she woke up, she realized that she was actually awake, physically. It only lasted a few minutes, and she had no significant thoughts during it. She had no control over it. Then, once her body was resting again, she once more reached out, past the dark place. This time no being forced her back, no information paralyzed her. She was free.

She found her way through her body again, reclaiming it. It had been violated by that being, but she could fix it.

She could find herself again.

* * *

Fitz brought Jemma to the medical center and set her up on a bed, giving her fluids and oxygen, monitoring her vital signs. He allowed Coulson to help him, but wouldn't leave her side. Not for a second.

Coulson brought Skye in and put her on the bed next to Jemma, but she woke up quickly. She was annoyed at being knocked out again, but when she saw Jemma she stopped talking.

"Is she gonna be okay?" she asked.

"Yes." Coulson said. "But she'll need time."

It was twenty-four hours before she stirred. And then she woke up only for a few minutes, blinking slowly and looking very confused; very blank.

A few hours later she woke up for longer. Fitz had gotten rid of the oxygen mask and only had her on minimal fluids.

She stared blankly ahead.

"Jemma." Fitz said softly.

Her head whipped around, her pupils dilating with fear. She drew her knees up close to her chest, locking her arms around them.

"It's okay." He said. "You're safe."

She kept looking at him, the fear slightly fading from her eyes. But she refused to speak.

So he sat with her silently, holding one of her hands after she reluctantly let him take it.

The next time she woke up she recognized him faster, actually taking his hand instead of waiting for him to take hers. He got her to drink water and eat something. He thought she looked like she might speak, but at the last second she seemed to decide against it, leaning back and closing her eyes, her hand still firmly gripping Fitz's.

That was when the nightmares started. Though she'd made progress when she was awake, sleep made everything worse. The first time she had a nightmare, she had woken Fitz with a strangled scream.

 _He snapped awake when he heard the scream, jumping up. Jemma was tossing her head side to side on the pillow, whimpering and saying "no, no!". She was awake, though she seemed to still be in her dream, not realizing where she was or that she was safe. He climbed onto her bed, wrapping his arms around her. "Shh." He said. "Shh, it's okay. You're safe."_

 _He tightened his grip on her and rubbed her back soothingly, holding her. She willingly sank against him. "Shh." He said in a soft voice. "I've got you Jemma. I won't let go. You're safe."_

 _She seemed to realize something wasn't real, and cried into him for a few minutes before seeming to regain control. She quieted. A few minutes after she stopped he moved so he could see her and found her fast asleep, tear tracks still visible on her cheeks._

 _He decided that if he moved, he might wake her, so he repositioned slightly and closed his eyes, settling in for the rest of the night._

 _She was quiet in his arms._

* * *

The first thirty-six hours were extremely tough.

Fitz never left her side, not for more than five minutes, and only then to change his clothes or get food and water; refresh himself.

Her nightmares continued, but she was able to take them silently. She had to sleep a lot to replenish her energy. She would wake up whimpering and crying, but after that first time she didn't scream again. Fitz continued to comfort her whenever she had nightmares.

Two days after the entity left her body, she spoke.

"Fitz." She said.

His head snapped up, his eyes only on her. "Did you just - ?"

She smiled tentatively. "Yes."

"Jemma, I'm so glad!" he said, wrapping her in a hug. "I was so worried when you didn't talk."

"I wasn't ready." She said. "Now I am."

"Are you okay?"

"No." she said immediately. "But… I'm getting there."

"Just tell me how to help you." He said. "I'll do anything."

"You're already doing it." She said, squeezing his hand.

* * *

She left the medical center after four days, cleared by Fitz and Coulson. They locked the Kree stone in a thick metal safe, and then Coulson sent that somewhere he told no one on the team. Fitz didn't care where it was, as long as it was gone. It had caused enough damage.

He stayed with Jemma all day after she was released from the medical section. They went to the lab, walking hand in hand.

She was acting normally by this point; at least, the new normal. She was talking to Fitz a lot, though she was definitely more timid.

"It crushed me." She confided to him as they entered the lab, after a brief silence. "When it took me into the stone, it crushed my resistance. I didn't have a chance."

He just listened, sensing that she had more to say.

"Did I?"

"Of course not." He said. "It would have happened to whoever the stone took in."

"I was barely aware of anything after it took me in." she said. "I was locked into a small part of my mind, half-conscious. But I could remember pieces. And when you got it out of me… everything came rushing back, everything that was me and all of the things that had happened since… you know." She looked at him. "But if I had fought harder in the first place, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad!"

"Jemma, listen." He said. "One, you said the rock started controlling your thoughts immediately, right? So you couldn't have fought back any harder. And two, if you could have, it might have done more than just shove you to the back of your mind." He looked down. "It might have done something more permanent."

She shook her head. "I just… everything happened so quickly. We were talking, and then…"

"I know." He said.

"Did you analyze that water yet?" she said, keen to change the subject.

"It's gone." He said. "Coulson must have dropped it at the scene."

"That's alright."

"We had something more important to take care of." He said, looking at her.

"I wonder if it actually does grant immortality." She insisted.

"I doubt it. It only hurt you."

"Maybe there's a process you have to go through before drinking it." She mused. "Maybe it only works if you've been prepared for it."

"Either way, it's not our business anymore. You're mortal."

They were quiet for a moment. Then Fitz got out the project they had been working on, almost two weeks before. He was asking her something without verbalizing. She nodded, and they were back.

They worked the rest of the day, taking it slowly and lightly. Then, after dinner, Jemma decided to turn in early. Fitz walked her to her room and watched as she closed the door, hating the feeling it gave him.

He stared at her closed door for a moment before sighing and starting to walk away. She must be ready to be on her own, he thought.

Then he heard the door open and stopped walking, still facing away from it.

"Fitz." She said. "Will you stay with me tonight?"

He smiled, turning around. "Of course."

She lay down on her bed and he closed the door, walking over to her. "How do you want me to do this?" he asked.

She looked at him with those brown eyes, completely genuine. "You could lie next to me."

He nodded once and moved to be next to her, easing himself onto the bed. Immediately she nestled against him, sighing and closing her eyes. "Thank you." She whispered to him.

He looked at the ceiling, swallowing. "No problem."

* * *

So Jemma healed. Fitz spent a few nights with her, and then she found that she was ready to sleep on her own. At least, she forced herself to be ready. After all, she couldn't rely on his presence forever.

She was scared to be on her own for too long, but she knew only time could cure her of that fear. She was hesitant around her team members too, especially Skye, but they were nothing but supportive. They did everything they could to help her feel like herself again.

And then, one day, she remembered something.

"We were meant to go out to dinner." She said.

Fitz looked up at her and blinked. "What?"

"The day I was taken." She said. "We were supposed to go out to dinner."

"Yeah." Fitz said. He looked down at his work.

She kept her gaze on him. She couldn't believe she had forgotten.

"Do you still… want to?" she asked.

He set the paper he had been staring at down. "Do you?"

"Yes."

"I do too."

Quiet for a second.

"Well, then let's do it!" Jemma said, smiling.

Fitz studied her. "Are you sure? You're ready." He questioned.

She walked over to him, slowly. "I've been ready for a long time, Fitz. I was just too stupid to realize it."

He stood up, not saying anything.

"I'm tired of pretending to be okay with our relationship. Seeing Hunter and Bobbi… it made me realize what we could have." She said. She reached up and brought their faces closer.

"I want to be with you." She said softly, and a second later she pressed her lips to his tenderly.

When they separated, their eyes were locked again, both blushing. "Can I be with you?" she asked.

He kissed her again, passionately, and when he let her go she laughed. "I'll take that as a yes, then?"

He grinned. "Definitely. Yes!" he said.

She felt lighter than she had in a long time; happy. The look on Fitz's face was perfect, his blue eyes shining like she had never seen before. She imagined she must look like he did.

"Just let me freshen up." She said.

"No, don't." Fitz said quickly. "Last time we planned this, it didn't end so well."

"Nothing's going to happen Fitz."

As she said it, she realized she actually believed it. She was still nervous, but she felt her confidence slowly coming back to her. Her room didn't pose a threat.

"You don't have to anyway." He said. "You look perfect."

She felt a smile bloom on her lips, a sort of breathless excitement rising in her. "Then what are we waiting for? We have a date to go on."

He smiled back at her, as if not really believing it was finally happening. He repeated it with wonder. "We have a date."

 **A/N: That's it! The final chapter of The Barriers That We Face! I can't believe it's over!**

 **It's been a great ride. I just wanted to explain a few things, in case I didn't make them clear enough in the story. The entity in the rock usually takes a host just to kill Inhumans. That's it's primary goal. But I figured that it bonded so much with Jemma it would want to stay with her. Enter immortality!**

 **The water failed, and the entity was forced to leave Jemma. I put in that the entity killed the last host it had been forced from, but I figured it wouldn't want to kill Jemma. It wanted to stay with her, so that's all it tried to do. She was a perfect host for it.**

 **And I had to end with some Fitz-Simmons romance. I couldn't resist!**

 **Thank you for all your support, guys! If you liked this, check out my other stories for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., including my Fitz-Simmons drabble series Partners for Life! My next story: The Corrupted Shield. Thanks again!**


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